it the moccasin
till it was no more than a wrapping. "Mebbyso heap walk," he stated
simply.

"Mebbyso you won't do anything of the kind," Good Indian retorted. "You
come down and take a horse. What for you all time watchum Baumberger?"
he added, remembering then what had brought them both upon the bluff.
"Baumberger all time fish--no more." He waved his hand toward the Malad.
"Baumberger bueno--catchum fish--no more."

Peppajee got slowly and painfully upon his feet--rather, upon one foot.
When Good Indian held out a steadying arm, he accepted it, and leaned
rather heavily.

"Yo' eyes sick," said Peppajee, and grinned sardonically. "Yo' eyes
see all time Squaw-with-sun-hair. Fillum yo' eyes, yo' see notting. Yo'
catchum squaw, bimeby mebbyso see plenty mo'. Me no catchum sick eye.
Mebbyso me see heap plenty."

"What you see, you all time watchum Baumberger?"

But Peppajee, hobbling where he must walk, crawling where he might,
sliding carefully where a slanting bowlder offered a few feet of smooth
descent, and taking hold of Good Indian's offered arm when necessity
impelled him, pressed his thin lips together, and refused to answer. So
they came at last to the ledge beside the rapids, where a thin wisp of
smoke waved lazily in the vagrant breeze which played with the ripples
and swayed languidly the smaller branches of the nearby trees.

Only Donny was there, sitting disgruntled upon the most comfortable
rock he could find, sulking because the others had taken all the
fishing-tackle that was of any account, and had left him to make shift
with one bent, dulled hook, a lump of fat pork, and a dozen feet of
line.

"And I can catch more fish than anybody in the bunch!" he began
complainingly and without preface, waving a dirty hand contemptuously at
the despised tackle when the two came slowly up. "That's the way it goes
when you take a lot of girls along! They've got to have the best rods
and tackle, and all they'll do will be to snag lines and lose leaders
and hooks, and giggle alla squeal. Aw--DARN girls!"

"And I'm going to pile it on still thicker, Donny!" Good Indian grinned
down at him. "I'm going to swipe your Pirate Chief for a while, till I
take Peppajee into camp. He's gentle, and Peppajee's got a snake-bite.
I'll be back before you get ready to go home."

"I'm ready to go home right now," growled Donny, sinking his chin
between his two palms. "But I guess the walkin' ain't all taken up."

Good Indian